Foster
by CelticLady
Summary: Lost of xover. Johnny finds leads into his past and decides to follow them. Dib is married to a psychic and is good friends with Zim. Squee is put into foster care. Gaz is nice. Jhonen is the crazy neighbor. Lots of drama, don't read if you don't like mom
1. Chapter 1

Foster

Disclaimer- I don't own Invader Zim, Squee! JtHM, or Judging Amy. I don't own Jhonen Vasquez, either. I believe he owns himself, but I did see something on the Internet where someone tried to buy him…whatever.

Try not to be too harsh on this story; I've never written one quite like this and I did this mostly on impulse. (Read: My friends harassed me into it.)

So review or don't, oh doomed ones.

(Here's the story!)

* * *

Judge Amy Gray sat calmly before the case in her small, Connecticut Juvenile Justice courtroom. Well, perhaps 'Calm' was a lie, as she struggled to maintain her professional composure. This case was just so terrible! It was a neglect case, which happened fairly often, but what was so shocking about this was that this was a tiny eight year old boy named Todd Casil, who was so lonely and afraid of the world that he had been in a mental hospital. While he was there, it was revealed that the cause of his problems was severe neglect and emotional abuse. Mrs. Casil was under the influence of so many drugs that she didn't even know her own name, let alone anything about her son, including his very existence! Mr. Casil, however, was much worse, blaming his son for everything wrong in his life, frequently trying to get rid of the child. Todd himself was an adorable, timid child with big, sad brown eyes, who couldn't understand why they 'scary people in suits want to take him away from Mommy and Daddy'.

It was a bad day, to say the least, and it took a lot of effort not to cry when little Todd asked his parents when they could go home; their response?

Mrs. Casil: "Who are you, little boy?"

Mr. Casil: "This is all your fault, s..son."

The case ended with the two adult Casils hauled off to prison, and a crying Todd taken to DCF (the Department of Children and Families) to be placed in foster care. It was a bit of a consolation when the DCF representative promised that her mother, Maxine would be the one to handle such a delicate case.

"Judge Gray?" The voice of Bruce Van Exel, her CSO, brought her back to reality.

"Huh? What is it, Bruce?" She asked absently.

"I've called a twenty minute recess before the next case, you look like you need it." He said understandingly.

"Thank you, Bruce."

-------------------------------------------------- DCF

"When can I go home, social worker lady?" Todd asked, "School's out and Pepito's probably wondering where I am."

"Who's Pepito?" Maxine asked.

Todd thought a minute, "Pepito's the anti-Christ. His daddy's the devil."

Maxine stared. This was not something she expected to hear… "Really?" She managed.

"Yeah. His mom's nice, but his dad's always trying to get me to join his soulless army of darkness. That's before the aliens came, though."

"Aliens?"

He nodded, "Scary neighbor man was right; it was a Tuesday."

"Allllriiiiigggghhhht…"

------------------------------------------------ Soon

"So, Maxine, what's the story with the kid?" Her boss, Sean Potter asked.

"Worse than I thought, Sean. We need an accepting family, and one that's not exactly normal. Todd Casil is obviously traumatized, and seems slightly delusional. It took about an hour to get him convinced that there was nothing in my office to maim or kill him, and the answers I got talking to him were, quite frankly, disturbing. I haven't found anyone on my lists that seem right."

"Weird, huh? I just approved a very young couple as foster caregivers this morning, and they don't come much weirder than that man."

"What man?" She asked, "And why would a young couple want to have a foster child rather than one of their own?"

"Well, apparently they both had very bad childhoods and wanted to make sure they were up to the task of parenthood before starting with a baby." He handed her their file.

"Dib Patrick Membrane and Dr. Jessica C. Membrane. Both age 23. The husband is a… Do I have this right? A Paranormal investigator/supernatural exterminator?" He nodded, she continued reading, "The wife is a physician with a successful family practice, and they've been married for four years. Good god! That man has an enormous head!"

"I know! And he's so scrawny! I wonder how he holds it up! Anyway, they seemed like nice people, and the wife had a younger brother who was insane."

"Really? Do we have a record of him?"

"No, files say, she hasn't seen him since their parents divorced. The mother took her, and the father took Johnny halfway across the country. Apparently the sister was keeping him stable, because the kid had a psychotic episode a month after they moved away, and disappeared shortly after turning fifteen."

"Good lord! How old were they?"

"When their parents split? Well, Dr. Membrane was thirteen, and her brother was eleven. There's nothing suspicious to link to the sister, in fact, she and her husband seem like nice people, and background checks don't show anything to worry about. Not concerning them personally. In fact, they solved a disappearance case local police had given up on, so they're probably good at thinking on their feet."

"Alright, if you think they're the right people, call them and have them come talk to me."

"Will do."

----------------------------------------- Elsewhere, That night

"Hi, honey." Jessie said cheerfully as her husband stalked in late from work.

"Hi." Dib mumbled.

"What's the matter, baby?" She asked, "Usually you're in such a good mood when you come back from these sighting points!"

"Do you think I'm wasting my life?" Dib asked, flopping down on the couch next to her.

"Of course not!" She snuggled close, and let him bury his face in her curly black hair.

"My dad still does." He said.

"Your dad is a moron. The world may think he's brilliant, but he has yet to come up with any significant cures and what's the point of 'Super Toast', anyway? I mean, what's the difference between it and regular toast? Invent some super coffee, or super chocolate, and I might care, but really, what has he done with his life that gives him the right to criticize yours? Besides, "Super Toast"? Puh-lease! What a dumb idea!" She stopped, blushing, "Oh dear, I was rambling again… Why didn't you stop me?"

He laughed, kissing her. "You're cute when you ramble, and besides, you put up with mine!"

"Yeah, but I don't mind your rambling; usually, it leaves you in a better mood afterwards." She grinned, "Besides, I think _you're_ cute when you ramble!" She laughed, then pulled a face.

"What's wrong?" he asked,

"Oh, I just realized that we've been married for over a year now and we're still acting like newlyweds! How funny is that? And all those 'normal' kids we went to skool with have terrible marriages!"

He nodded, "Well, we got lucky." He sighed, "Mmmm…I love the way you smell; honey and almonds…" He kissed her neck.

She grinned, "Down, boy. Speaking of lucky, I got a call from Gaz today, and she and Zim are back from their honeymoon. So they're coming over for dinner tonight. And that's not even the best part!"

"No?" Dib was intrigued. Normally, the fact that their longtime best friend, and his sister coming back would be the big order of the day.

She shook her head, "Nope! We're going to have news for them! I got a call from DCF today at the office; we've been approved for a foster child!"

"Really? Already?"

"Yeah! They thought that we would be the most suitable candidates. His name's Todd, and he's eight years old, and we might be able to keep him!"

"That's great! So… why are we the most suitable?"

"They were going to explain it tomorrow when we pick him up." She replied. "It could be because I'm a doctor."

"Maybe." He agreed, "Things have been pretty slow at work while Zim's been gone, it'll be nice to have my partner back."

"So what's next on your agenda, luv?" Jess asked.

"Well, there've been these bizarre killings around this one area. The weirdest part was that the blood was always gone. Until now, there have been no survivors, but now there's this one girl who saw what did it." He said.

"Go on." She encouraged, looking slightly troubled.

Dib hesitated a moment; even after all these years of Jessie listening to him, he was still wary from a whole life of most people calling him crazy. Jessie never had. Even teasing, she knew it was a sore area, so she was careful with her words. She said her brother had had trouble with certain words, too. Bigger problems, mostly with words like 'wacky'.

"Well," He continued, "She said it was a huge, hideous monster. Scarier than anything she's ever seen. It had hundreds of mouths, several claws and tentacles and things. She said it drank the blood with parts of the people… I was thinking Zim and I could catch it and study it, like we did with the Demon of Versailles."

Jessie suddenly felt her entire body go cold, and she was seized by an inexplicable feeling of dread. "Dib… please don't! This thing…I have a horrible feeling about it…"

He gave her an odd look.

"Please," She said softly, eyes going strangely glassy, "If you have to go after it, obliterate it completely. I have the worst feeling that it does horrible things even when it's captive…gaining power…taking things it oughtn't. The only way to stop it is to kill it completely." She looked down, "Look, I don't know why, I just don't like this. I need you to trust me without knowing why."

Dib sighed, "I'll take your word for it. Your intuition on these things is usually right, anyway."

She smiled, relieved, resting her cheek on his shoulder. "I just don't want to lose you too…"

"I know, dear." He put is arms around her and she closed her eyes, luxuriating in the feelings of calm and safety when she was with her husband. They brought each other peace. They both knew it, though those words were never spoken.

That was what made their marriage so perfect, really. Her personality was that of a nurturer, slightly scarred by the thought of failing to save her brother, and losing him; her parents divorce had turned her from a confident teenager to a scared, lost young girl seeking something safe after her life had been torn apart. Basically, Jessie needed to have some anchor to keep her world spinning, and someone to love. Dib, however, was a protector, slightly amoral at times, with only the best of intentions at heart, but had a wounded spirit because nobody had ever believed in him. He had the need to protect somebody, and the need for a purpose. Neglect had driven him to depression before, which had led to he and Zim becoming friends. What Dib needed was for someone to make him feel needed; like he wasn't some failure, or burden. He needed to be somebody's champion, somebody's soulmate. His heart was starved for love and affection, and he had an inferiority complex to boot.

Their strengths and weaknesses complimented each other. Jessie loved Dib completely and unconditionally, soothing his inner pains and boosting his fragile ego. Dib thought Jessie was perfect, someone who deserved to be protected from anything bad in the world. Even if they should have a disagreement, he would never raise his voice, or (god forbid) his hand to her. After hearing her talk about how bad things had been before and after her parents' divorce, Dib promised himself she'd never be hurt like that again. Jessie promised herself Dib would never be alone again. That no matter how the world tried to shoot him down, she would never let him forget what a great man she _knew_ he was.

They were both good people, with good senses of humor, courage, and a deep, abiding loyalty to friends, family, and most of all, each other: Jessie was cute and quirky, always ready to cheer up a patient or a friend with a joke or a story. She never failed to come through for anyone, even at her own expense. She was tactful and slow to judge, never setting a label to a person, or condemning someone she didn't know. Yet she was thoughtful and creative, and good with advice to those who asked. She was a faithful wife with eyes for no other man. Dib was _very_ outspoken, but tried not to be overly offensive. He could be a little impulsive, but could think well on his feet. He had a mischievous streak, and a healthy mastery of sarcasm. He was loyal and protective of friends and family, and would give his life or more for his wife. He was intelligent, but also physically fit, if a bit on the thin side. He was a good worker, and an honorable man who never forgot any commitments. He was stubborn and adventurous, which could be a good thing, and resilient. He was a dedicated husband who held on to his wedding vows and firmly believed in the sanctity of marriage.

You'll never see two people more in love. So when Dib saw his Jessie worried as she was about this particular case, he was inclined to believe her. So, despite his disappointment at giving up a fascinating adventure, he replied. "I won't go, then, Jessie-bear."

"Thank you, Spike." She whispered.

"_MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" _

Both turned to look at the door. There was a knock.

Jessie got up. "I think that might be our neighbor."

Dib nodded, "Yeah, I recognize that evil cackle. Jhonen's on a sugar rush again."

She smiled, shaking her head, "Which reminds me, you two have a poker night this Saturday, right?"

"Yes. I nearly forgot."

She opened the door.

Jhonen raised his hand in the air. "BEHOLD! _I_ have your WATER BILL!" He cried, then looked around, "Ummm…yeeeaaahhh…the mailman put it in my mailbox by mistake." He added.

She raised an eyebrow, cheerful grin widening, "Thanks, Jho. How're the comics coming?"

"Just started working on another exciting Filler Bunny! Unfortunately, I've got writer's block for now, so I went to Roachy Mart for another battle with the Devil. I think he's starting to get predictable, though. Turns out he's just not THE devil, just one of the spawn of the Jersey Devil out on his own."

"Uh…Bummer?" she ventured.

He nodded, "Why can't my life be interesting?" He asked. "Just a little something interesting, that's all I ask!"

"Well, since you're not busy, why don't you join us for dinner tonight? Gaz and Dib just came back from their honeymoon, and Dib and I have some good news you might like to hear."

He thought, "Depends. Do I smell Lasagna in the oven right now?"

She nodded.

"Then sure, I'll stay. Wait, when did they come back? I didn't see Zim's ship pull in across the street!"

"Around 3 a.m."

"Oh, I was at Roachy Mart then. Hey, did you two see that thing in the papers this morning? Apparently that mysterious beast made another wave of kills!" Jhonen said excitedly. "Must be a real bad fucker, neh?"

Dib frowned, "I was going to go after it, but Jessie thinks it's too dangerous."

Jhonen was silent for a minute. "Sorry, Jess… But hey, Dib, if you and Zim decide to go after it, I could help?"

"Well, as useful as your finger-blasting action has been before, I promised to leave this one to someone else." He replied reluctantly.

Jessie gave a forced smile, "Why don't you two talk while I go in the kitchen to finish making the dessert?" She ran off. Five minutes later, her singing drifted out through the house along with wonderful smells.

An awkward silence filled the room. Jhonen cleared his throat, "Ah…so… She's got a beautiful voice, Dib. You're a lucky man."

Dib nodded, "She's feeling guilty. She knows I still want to go after it. But she's scared, says this one's real bad, and you know it takes a lot to scare her like that. I have a feeling there's something she's not telling me, but I'm sure we'll talk about it soon. There's something about the way she talked about it… like it was something personal…I just want to kill it more now."

Jhonen shrugged, "Maybe later?"

"We'd have to obliterate it completely… down to the last tentacle…"

Luckily, a knock at the door interrupted his grim musings.

--------------------------------------- Later ------------------------------------

The five friends were all enjoying the reunion, talking about old times, plans for the future, and dreams fulfilled. Only Jhonen felt slightly lonely, seeing all of his friends present so deeply and madly in love with their spouses.

Not that he was looking to settle down, of course.

He just thought it might be nice to have someone who would always be there.

clink, clink

"Guys, Jessie and I have an announcement to make…" Dib started.

"We're getting a foster kid!" Jessie said happily. "We're picking him up tomorrow!"

There was silence for a moment.

"That's…um… great, Jessie." Gaz said, remembering the depression her sister-in-law had gone through after she lost the baby. "Really great." She gave her brother's wife a small smile. 'I only wish you had the courage to try again.' She thought. Jessie was one of the few people Gaz liked and trusted.

This went back to the eighth grade.

She'd been coming home from the bookstore alone, having picked out her book for a report.

A strange man had kidnapped her, raped and tortured her, and left her in an alley to crawl home.

Dib and Jessie had been there at the time, and at first, she was suspicious of their concern, but quickly realized it was genuine and warmed up to the two, who'd been determined to look out for her and take care of her in the state she was in.

It was comforting knowing that, for once, someone had her back.

Zim, at that time, was in traction after picking a fight with said stalker/rapist. In a fury, he had gone after the man without taking the time to bring a weapon.

Zim had won, but just barely.

A year later, they went out on a date, and had been together on and off until Zim finally proposed.

It was a complicated relationship.

Very complicated.

Gaz respected Jessie, but didn't understand why she seemed to blame herself for the death of their unborn child. Shaking herself out of these thoughts, she asked "How old is he?" in what she hoped was an encouraging tone.

"Eight. With black hair and light brown eyes. That's how the social worker described him, anyway."

"Sounds like the Dib, if you ask me." Zim supplied.

Jessie nodded, "The thought had crossed my mind." She admitted with a small smile.

"How are you going to explain Zim?" Jhonen asked, "No offense," He added, "But it's not every day you meet a six foot tall Irken paranormal investigator/supernatural exterminator."

"The HUUUUUMMAN has a point." Zim agreed, "My superior ZIM-ness is very _noticeable_ even in my _ingenious_ disguise."

"We'll tell him the _truth_!" Dib exclaimed. "There are too many lies in our society already!"

Jessie sighed, and nodded. "Can't be much harder than explaining that our neighbor is a superpowered cartoonist who drinks blood and can shoot deadly beams out of his 'conversation finger'." She acknowledged. "Or the fact that his foster-daddy chases unnatural beasties and that foster-mommy's a medium." She looked at her sister-in-law, "And then there's Gaz, who's a forensic detective, and we haven't even _mentioned_ GIR, yet. Speaking of which, where is the little bugger?"

Zim shrugged, "Eh, he latched onto the bumper of a Domino's delivery vessel and I haven't seen him since. He's probably harassing the pimple-faced _delivery-beast_. He'll be back though…he ALWAYS comes back!" He sounded slightly disappointed about this.

"Speaking of GIR, he ate a few gutters and half of my garage door off of my _Fortress of Doom™ _at some point." Jhonen remarked. "If he continues to devour my dwelling, I will be forced to turn him into a steaming pile of hideous twisted metal." An unnatural gleam shone on his glasses.

"Eh?" Zim thought a minute, "Um, alright. I'll threaten to take away his television privileges or something. That _usually _works."

"See that you do." He advised, straightening his glasses. "By the way, I heard a rumor that we're getting some new neighbors on the other side of your house, Dib. The 'Diablos', I hear."

"Really?"

"Yep. So what's dessert?" He asked.

"Cherry Cheesecake."

"Yum!"

"You think they'll fit in here?" Gaz asked, "No offense, but in this little corner of the neighborhood, we're all a little weird. Considering that I deal with dead people on a regular basis, Dib and Zim hunt things most people ignore, Jessie sees spirits, and Jhonen's…well…Jhonen's Jhonen."

Jhonen grinned. "How very eloquent you are today, Mrs. Invader."

"I think anybody who moves in here is destined to be abnormal." Dib decided. "Even if they weren't before, they will be."

"The Dib-monkey raises a good point. Remember the LAST family in that house? One of them found out that they were part vampire, the wife took up an interest in collecting **_shrunken heads_**, and their daughter was a witch."

"They were pretty nice, though." Jessie pointed out.

"And what about the Voodoo priestess at the end of the block? And the werewolf a few houses down?"

"Maybe we should be worried. Is this an ok place to raise a kid? I mean, with a werewolf running around?"

"His girlfriend chains him up now." Dib replied, pausing a moment to realize the implications of that statement. "Umm… don't read too much into that…Besides, it's a lot better than where we grew up. Less assholes, nice houses with big backyards, relatively few cemeteries, and we're three states away from that people-eating monster."

"I've seen some of the victims of that creature." Gaz commented, "Frankly, not something fun to think of."

"Funny," Dib remarked, "There was a time when you would have liked that sort of thing."

Gaz raised an eyebrow, "I've mellowed in my old age."

Zim snorted, "You? MELLOW? I'm surprised you even know of the word!"

She glared at him, her gaze as ferocious as it ever was, and he 'eep'-ed and became silent.

"We should do this more often." Zim said.

"How about again tomorrow?" Jessie suggested, "Let Todd meet the whole family at once. Are you all free?"

"The whole family?" Jhonen asked, touched.

"Yeah." Dib said.

"That is, if you don't mind being lumped with a bunch of psychos." Jessie agreed.

"I don't think he'll have any problems fitting in." Gaz remarked.

Jhonen looked around furtively, "MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

---------------------------------------------That night ----------------------------------

_/ Dib's dream /_

_He felt himself stepping back in time, back to senior year in high school. He was going to Jessie's house, planning on surprising his girlfriend. No one was in the house, but he heard a guitar going all out in the garage. He remembered opening the door and finding Jessie inside. _

"_I see a red door and I want it painted black_

_No colors anymore, I want them to turn black_

_I see the girls go by dressed in their summer clothes,_

_I have to turn my head until my darkness goes_

_I see a line of cars and they are painted black_

_With flowers and my love both never to come back_

_I see people turn their heads and quickly look away_

_Like a newborn baby it just happens every day._

_I look inside myself and see my heart is black_

_I see my red door and it's heading into black_

_Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts_

_It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black!_

_I wanna see it painted, painted, painted black, oh baby_

_I wanna see it painted, painted, painted black, oh baby_

_No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue_

_I could not foresee this thing happening to you_

_If I look hard enough into the setting sun_

_My love will laugh with me until the morning comes_

_I wanna see it painted, painted, painted black, oh _

_Black as night, black as coal_

_I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky_

_painted, painted, painted black, oh baby_

_painted, painted, painted black!" _

_It was so strange seeing her sing a song like that, jamming out the intense song on the guitar. It was strange hearing the raw, chaotic emotions in her voice. But when he looked closer, he saw that her face was streaked with tears. When the song ended, she fell to her knees crying. She seemed surprised when he held her and asked what was wrong. That was when he found out that the song had been for her brother. _

"_They say he's run away. They say he's probably dead…" She sobbed, "I couldn't help him. I've failed him."_

_All he could do was hold her, kiss the tears away._

_That day had been the first time they had made love. They had both been virgins, and it had been his awkward attempt to take away her pain._

_The scene changed. Five months later, Dib, Jessie, Gaz, and Zim were in a dark cave. _

_The walls were damp as they walked in silence, each step progressively colder._

_Jessie suddenly stopped, eyes wide. "We need to turn back, Dib, something bad is here! Something bad happened here a long time ago, and it's still here!"_

"_Huh?" He said, "No way! This is the chance of a lifetime! We could solve the mystery of all the disappearances over the years!"_

"_There are restless dead here, Dib. They say to leave. Something ancient and evil is here."_

"_Maybe we should." Zim said, shivering, "My Pak's sensors detect something indeterminable. That usually isn't good."_

_They were armed only with pocketknives and a few hunting daggers. In front of them was a huge old door. When Dib touched it, it crumbled to dust. Complete darkness greeted them in a cavern too large to be fully lit by their flashlights and lanterns. An adolescent boy stepped into the beam of Dib's flashlight. He was thin and dressed in black, with spiky black hair. They couldn't see its face. "Jessie?" He said._

_Dib gaped, "Jessie! It's your brother! The boy in your pictures!" he exclaimed._

_She didn't move. "Dib.. that's not my brother." She said slowly._

_The thing gave a horrible screech, dashing at Dib. It raised its head and Dib could see that its eyes were sinister black pits and that its mouth was packed with huge fangs!_

_He felt rooted to the ground, and other things charged from the darkness._

_A change seemed to come over Jessie, a strange, fiery spirit entering her eyes and she raced at the thing heading for Dib, holding a long knife he had never seen before. _(A/N Hmmmm….. An insane look and an interesting knife… Now who does that sound like?)

_Everyone fought until the last…thing was dead. Each thing had taken on the form of some beloved dead person, even Dib and Gaz's mom. Their blood was red, but a darker red than human blood, with swirls of an oily black fluid. The blood pooled on the floor, covering their weapons, their clothes, their hands, and their pale, shocked faces as each clung to their significant other. He had found out, after his first battle, the names of the creatures, and they had been able to provide grieving families with the remains of their loved ones, and expose the cause of death. That had been the first time the world believed him. That had been the day he found out the extent of Jessie's strange ability._

_But in this dream, his vision was filled with the swirling blood._

_The scene changed again, and he saw a tall, unhealthily thin, miserable looking young man painting a wall with blood. The man was Johnny. He turned to Dib with a tortured expression. "I have to keep the wall painted with fresh blood, Dib, or it will come out. It's stealing parts of me, Dib. I don't remember her anymore… It took her away from me! It's stealing what sanity I have left!" He appeared to be an adult, but his voice was that of a frightened child. "I wish someone would just switch me off…and fix me…"_

_This vision swirled, and he saw the wall breaking down, and a hideous monster escaping. He saw Johnny lying dead on the ground with a collapsed eyeball and a bullethole in his head. The dead man turned his head and gave Dib a ghastly, psychotic grin. "It never ends, Dib. I hope you're being careful, lest you end up like me! Lines must be drawn. Where does it all end? Who is friend and who is foe?"_

_It ran away, and the room was filled with fire. The fire dissipated, leaving no marks. Johnny sat up, bullet hole gone. In its place was a band-aid. His hair was gone, except for two antennae-like tufts._

_The world rippled and he was in a child's room. The little boy was tiny, with big, teary eyes as his father continued to stick metaphorical knives into his innocent little soul._

"_Little kid, I'm sorry nobody loves you. But just think about it, think of how miserable I am, and how much of that is your fault. I…" But the man never finished. He was struck in the back of the head with a toy robot. Johnny came out from under the kid's bed._

_The world seemed to be put in fast forward, and then started up again. Johnny was talking; "The best most people can hope for is to better manage their damage. I'll be on my way, now. I still have a few things to take care of before I leave."_

_Total darkness surrounded Dib, and now he was watching the monster kill people, and then seeing Johnny sitting on his car, musing about how emotions were dangerous and he wanted to become cold. _

_Then clouds surrounded him._

_He heard a voice; his mother's…_

"_Follow your heart. Something big is brewing. You must know what to do, or all you have built will be for nothing. Ashes to ashes, nothing is forever if you aren't willing to fight for it."_

He looked down and saw Johnny alone and miserable, the child frightened and unloved, the beast running rampant, and Jessie crying in front of the graves of the child they had lost, and the grave of her brother, and her own mother. Zim and Gaz were arguing, and Jhonen was hitting GIR with a sledgehammer. A version of himself was down there, the one from the dream Zim had sent him as a child. He was a frivolous, egotistical bastard who had no idea what love was. Other worlds flew by, worlds of death, blood, fire. Worlds where he and Zim still fought, worlds where Gaz was dead, where he was dead, where he was suicidal, worlds where they all ended up alone. An endless sequence of horrible realities, each worse than the last.

The sky began to rain blood on all of the horrible images.

_He saw his own dead body, alone in a coffin. An empty funeral; nobody bothered to attend. His motionless face was streaked with tears of blood._

"You know what you must do, Dib. Don't become your father. Remember this dream. There are universes where things are different, where you never met your wife. There are universes where there can be no improvement; where there is no capacity for redemption. Universes where you betray the ones you love, ones where you love nobody, where the child who is to come tomorrow becomes worse than Johnny. Your brother-in-law is not dead, but he has lost too much to truly live. He is on a path that will lead him to a fate worse than death if not stopped. You and your friends stand between your world and eternal damnation. It may not seem to amount to much, but the examples of a few can redeem the many. The ties you each have made keep you from becoming the things you are in other realities. Hold onto those ties. When the time comes, you will know what to do. I am proud of the man you have become, Dib. I love you all. Good luck."

_Everything faded away, and his mother's voice left._

"_Wait!" He cried, "What are you talking about?"_

_/ End the dream /_

Dib sat straight up in bed, panting. The sudden movement woke Jessie.

"Hmmm? Honey, is something wrong?" She asked sleepily.

He stared at her, loving the way her curly black hair fell messily around her face, the way even when just awakening, her soft blue eyes gleamed with love for him. He remembered the world where Johnny killed her, not knowing who she was until it was too late; the world where he killed her; the world where she was crazy too, like her brother and he was all alone and bitter. He remembered all the good times in this world, the ways that even when this life was bad, there were always the sweet accompaniments of loyal and caring friends, and his loving wife.

"Honey?" Her voice brought him back to reality.

He smiled, "No, nothing's wrong. I just had an odd dream. Visions and memories, that's all." He kissed her, moving closer.

She smiled drowsily, hugging him, "Oh, is that it? You looked like you were a million miles away."

"I was. But I'm back now, and counting my blessings. I love you, baby."

"I love you too, spike."

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN Meanwhile

Meanwhile, not too far away, Johnny C. woke from an unwanted and unwelcome sleep, screaming.

Heh, I think that's a good place to stop for now. Review or don't, FFFFFfffffffIIIIIiiiiiiittttttHHHHyyyyy Huuumanns.


	2. The importance of family

Foster

If you want the disclaimer, see the first chapter.

In this segment, you're going to see the more complex sides of Dib and co. There's definitely going to be more flashbacks in this story, many more. And you'll see some brief similarities between Jessie and Johnny.

Chapter 2. The Importance of Family

* * *

DCF

Maxine Gray sighed. This case had looked so simple to begin with, but she couldn't get little Todd to stop crying! She'd tried every trick in the book, and nothing had worked to cheer the kid up. It was a slight consolation that the foster family they had chosen would be here any minute now, but she was worried that they wouldn't want him if he was constantly crying. Then what would happen? They couldn't send him back to his parents; that simply wasn't an acceptable environment for anyone, let alone an eight-year-old!

This could be a problem.

------------------------ Meanwhile

They paused at the door. Dib's hand hovered in front of the knob, "Are you ready for this, Jess?" He asked.

She nodded, "As ready as I'll ever be. I hope Todd likes us, I mean, we're not exactly the most normal family, are we?"

"That could be a good thing." He said as he opened the door.

Someone pointed them in the right direction, but when Jessie saw the child, everything faded away. Their eyes locked on each other, and he stopped crying to stare, sniffling miserably.

Something clicked inside Jessie, and all of her maternal instincts surged up at once.

'_Mine.' _Something inside told her, _'My baby.' _Silently, she walked over and swept him up into her arms.

"It's ok now, sweetie." She murmured.

Todd wasn't quite sure how to react. He had no recollection of ever experiencing this situation. Sure, he'd seen parents hug their children before, but never imagined ever being one of those lucky kids. But who was this lady? Sure, something felt right here, but she wasn't his Mommy. The confusion made him stop crying as he tried to puzzle out the situation.

"Well, you must be Dr. Membrane." Said a voice.

Jessie gently set Todd on his feet, "Yes." She said.

"So I guess you knew that was Todd Casil." Said the woman who had spoken before. She had a likeable face, with strong features.

Jessie nodded, "Yeah, sometimes I just know things." She said softly, "I know that sounds a bit weird, but I just got the strangest sensation that he was mine."

Mrs. Gray smiled, "That happens sometimes. A mother's intuition, I suppose."

"I wouldn't know." Jessie replied sadly. "Seven months ago I lost my baby."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Dr." She said sympathetically.

About a half an hour later, the paperwork was filled out, and the three were on their way home. Todd was silent, but Jessie could swear she heard his stapled teddy bear talk to him.

'Hearing voices is never a good thing.'

'Oh? Well don't you think I know that? Johnny used to hear voices. My voices are spirits and things like that usually.'

'Maybe this one isn't a ghost. Maybe there's something going on here.'

'Well, I hope not. That could mean Todd's in danger. Usually, when ghosts approach _me_, rather than the other way around, it means something bad is going to happen.'

'You could be crazy.'

'Believe it or not, I've considered that possibility. No, I've seen crazy. I have a degree that allows me to determine crazy. You see, I just don't fit the criteria.'

'Are you really competent enough to decide? After all, you weren't even competent enough as a human being to keep your son alive.'

Ouch. 'Who asked you, anyway?'

'Technically, there is no 'me'. I'm just a manifestation of your own grief and self-doubt, brought further to power by your increased doubts about whether you're really capable of parenthood, even foster-parenthood.'

'Well, how long are you going to be here?'

'Until you can remove from this fragile state of mind. Even the spirits agree you've been here too long. It's time to move on.'

'Huh?'

'Looks like I'll be here for awhile. Well, at least your head's nicer than some people's; less garbage and hate. Not quite as spacious as your husband's, though.'

'Shut the hell up.'

As she was having this inner conflict, she felt Dib's hand close over hers. Wrenching herself away from her 'inner demon', she looked quizzically at him.

"We're home, honey. Who was it about this time, Johnny or Donny?" He asked.

She blushed, "Donny."

He sighed, squeezing her hand. "It wasn't your fault, Jess"

She searched his eyes, "Do you really believe that, Dib?"

He kissed her lips tenderly, "Does that answer your question?"

It did. She smiled lovingly, "I don't know what I'd do without you, my love."

He grinned, shrugging, "Oh, you'd be fine. You were the one who convinced me I didn't need the validation of others, remember? I'm far more concerned about what _I'd_ do without you! I've seen that world, and it ain't pretty!"

'Damn. That was quic…' the voice trailed off as it disappeared.

She suppressed a sadistic grin at its demise. "So, Toddie, what do you think of the house?" She asked.

Todd looked around as they piled out of the car; "It's nice." He said softly. "Are you sure the aliens won't get in? I don't want to be subducted again, they did spooooooky things to my head…"

Dib looked interested, "Abducted, not subducted." He corrected, "And what kind of aliens were they?"

Jessie smacked his arm. "DIB!" She admonished, then shoved Todd's suitcase at him in favor of holding the boy's tiny hand. "Of course they won't get you, sweetie. You're perfectly safe here, we won't let anything hurt you!"

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart." She swore, smiling encouragingly, "_RIGHT_, Dib?"

"Huh? Oh! Of course! Yeah, I hunt aliens, so the bad ones know to stay away! You don't have to be afraid of anything here."

"And if you are, come to one of us." Jessie said.

"We're never too busy for you." Dib agreed. 'I always promised I'd have time for my kids, unlike my father.' He thought bitterly.

"Now come on! Let's show you your room!"

Todd was shocked when he saw his room: The walls were painted with happy scenes from the Redwall books, and the ceiling was painted like the night sky, complete with glow-in-the-dark stars and comets. The carpet was a soft, thick royal blue. There was a bookcase packed with Garfield, Get Fuzzy, Calvin and Hobbes, and other fun little comics. The bed had Calvin and Hobbes sheets with a brand-new plush Hobbes sitting on the pillow. There were a few posters on the wall: Captain Underpants, Justice League, and Hamtaro. New toys were neatly stored everywhere. But best of all was what sat in the corner, right next to the window; his own writing desk, complete with all the writing and art supplies he could ever want!

He stared, big eyes practically bugging out. "I..is this all…for me?" He asked.

The nice curly-haired lady nodded, "Yep! We weren't sure what you liked, so we added a bit of everything. Jhonen suggested the writing desk, and it sounded like a good idea. Writing can be very relaxing. If you want to change anything, just say something! We're kind of new at this parenting thing, so we want to do it right. Besides, you're a real special kid, Toddie, you deserve this. Mrs. Gray told me how bad things have been for you, so we wanted you to be happy."

His eyes filled with tears again. He didn't remember the last time someone had done something like this for him; just to make him happy.

"What's wrong?" The lady asked.

"N…nothing!" He wailed, overwhelmed.

She picked him up again, rubbing his back gently. "It's ok, sweetie, let it out." She whispered.

'What do you think, Shmee?' he asked silently. 'Is it safe here?'

The bear thought. 'For now. But there's something I can't quite put my finger on with the woman. Be careful, only address your thoughts to me, and I'll do the same. She heard us in the car and that could be bad.'

'But I like her, she's nice and she smells good. Mommy always smelled like bad things and Daddy always said mean stuff. They listen to me.'

'Let's just hope they don't start hating what they hear. For now, they look like good people.'

'Good.'

'Shmee…nobody's ever been nice to me before except scary neighbor man, and he wasn't very good at it…'

'Just be careful. She's listening now, I have to be quiet.'

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN Meanwhile, Somewhere else…

Johnny C. woke from an unwanted and unwelcome sleep, screaming.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" He yelled.

_Bad dream?_ Meat inquired.

"Who the hell were those people?" Johnny mused. "Who's Jessie, and why would she care if I died? What's a Zim? How can someone exist with such a massive head?"

_I wondered why you were screaming. It truly worries me that you wouldn't remember her. Haven't you ever wondered why your conscience took the form of that little bunny?_

"What does that have to do with anything?"

_Your sister, Dear boy. Jessie. You called her 'Bunny'. I can only imagine the people with her are part of her life now._

Johnny stared. "I don't have a sister… do I?"

Meat sighed._ I really worry about you, son. Open the dashboard. You should find a blue _Calvin and Hobbes_ pencil box measuring about four and a half by eleven inches and three inches deep. When you left home, it was your most precious possession._

"Ok." Johnny found the box, but just held it, staring. "What…what now?"

_Open it, you ass!_

With shaking hands, he lifted the lid; almost afraid to find out about his lost past. In the box were several pictures, and two thick stacks of letters.

The pictures were what caught his eye first. The first was a picture of a younger version of himself looking up at a younger version of the woman in his dream. They both looked so happy and carefree. He looked so…sane.

Another picture was of him asleep on the girl's lap. She had a loving, protective look on her face.

'I'll always look out for you, Nny.'

'Promise, Bunny?'

'Always.'

He wasn't sure where those voices came from, but he liked her voice. He searched for another memory, and found an empty space.

_You kept that one._ Meat said, _But that's all. It was the most important to you. She's still out there, you know…if you wanted to look for her._

"I don't want to listen to you. Besides, where was she when everything went bad?"

'**You want this.'**

"Nailbunny?"

'Find her, and find the answers to your questions. She always did love you. Read the letters, and you'll know that she never stopped. In particular, go to the bottom of the second pile. That will tell you what you need to know.'

"Well, ok." He did so, opening the envelope carefully.

_Dear Nny._

_Please don't do it Nny! I know things are hard but you're so much better than that! _

_I wish I could be there to look out for you, but Mom won't let me go._

_Don't run away, or at least come here if you must. Please, Johnny. The world is a hard and scary place. You're only fifteen, please don't do anything rash! I love you, sweetie, and what those people say doesn't matter. You're perfect, they're the ones who are more worthy of criticism. _

_I know it's hard to want to stay in a place where people are mean to you, but you remember what I told you about Dib, right? You just need to find someone who knows how wonderful you are. _

_Besides, who wants to be alone all the time? At least there, we can write, and talk on the phone. I'm trying to get Mom to fight for custody, just wait a little while longer. I believe in you._

_Love always,_

_Jessie, a.k.a. 'Bunny'_

Johnny stared. "She tried to stop me?"

_Sometimes there are forces too strong to resist, my boy._ Meat said sympathetically. _But then, the bond between siblings can't be suppressed very long. Even if you still served the thing from the wall, you'd wonder._

Johnny shuddered, "It's still out there, somewhere. I can feel it.. it has pieces of me in it… things it stole.."

_Yes. Regrettably so. It feeds on terror now, and pain. And blood, but you knew that already._

"What if it decides it wants the rest of me?"

We'll deal with 

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Meanwhile, Forensics Lab

Gaz stared at the shredded bits of humanity on the table.

"Please enlighten me, Kloob. What the hell am I looking at?" She asked.

Her co-worker, professor Kloob Screlwany, shuddered. "That's what was left in one of those massacred cities. You're the best in the biz, we think you can figure out who or what did it. Besides, if it's not human, well, you've got connections."

"You would be referring to my husband and brother, I believe?"

"Well, you've collaborated before."

"True. But you know I work mostly on rape/murder cases." She reminded him.

"But when we call you to work on the impossible cases, you always come through." Kloob reminded her.

"Coming through's my job." She said dryly. "And yours, as well, if you bothered to remember that."

"Touché." He admitted. "I never thought I'd end up doing this, though." He smiled seductively at her, "But that's just how life goes."

"Cut the dramatics, Kloob. You went to college for it, so obviously you had some inclination as to what you were going to do."

He raised his hands in surrender. "Rowr! So what got you into this line of work, Miss Membrane."

"Mrs. Invader." She corrected, glaring. "And all I'm gonna say is that I could have ended up in the same situation as some of the girls I have to examine. I was lucky enough to have people around to save me; these girls didn't, so they're at least entitled to justice. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing. Justice."

"Oh. Any thoughts on the remains?"

"Revolting." She responded truthfully.

"You know what I mean. Any _professional_ thoughts?" He clarified.

She sighed, "As far as what did it, it seems inconclusive. These people have been dismembered in several different ways. If reports didn't indicate a single organism, I'd be tempted to list several classifications of beast."

"Anything like that case back when you were in school? The one in the cave?" He asked.

"The Shlavreran? No. They fed off everything; this…being seems to do some of its killing just for fun. It seems far too intelligent, judging by its pattern."

"Pattern?"

"Yes. Surely you've noticed how it scatters its attacks? Devastating half an area, and remaining unseen by the rest. Gaining substantial distance between each area it attacks… It knows where people will look next, and manages to throw them off completely. Like little mind games. Striking in one area, right after soldiers leave. Or right before they arrive. Like it knows how people will react." She frowned. "Something is very wrong."

"Did you expect to be dealing with this?" Kloob asked.

"No. My Zim and Dib were going to look into it, but Jess talked Dib out of it. Something about having a bad feeling. Zim didn't tell me the whole story. Jessie usually has good instincts about this sort of thing."

"So your brother has made abundantly clear." Kloob remarked. "But I was under the impression that she was a medical doctor, not a Paranormal investigator/exterminator like your husband and Dib."

"Well, Jess and I believed them when the world thought they were crazy. The four of us were the core group. We decided not to break the circle…just bend it a little, since it's been so lucky so far."

"So how's married life suiting you? Any…difficulties?" He asked, a little too nicely.

"I love Zim. And, in case you've forgotten; you're married, too."

"Mella would never know."

"But I would. Look, what we had in college…you were just the rebound guy while Zim and I were fighting. Let it go." She turned away.

"Alright. Tonight, I'll be waiting in your office at eleven p.m. Show up, and you know what we can do. But don't, and I'll let it go, no regrets."

Her eyes blazed, "I've done all I can with these tests. I'm taking half a personal day. Consider that your answer. Like you said, no regrets."

With that, she wheeled around and left.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Meanwhile, Somewhere else

"Hi Devi!" Tenna chirped.

"You seem even more disgustingly cheerful than normal, Tenna. What's up?"

"Oh, I got another letter from my 'big buddy' from school." Tenna said happily. "We've been writing for about six years."

"Voluntarily?"

"Yeah, she and her husband are my honorary big brother and sister."

"Really?"

"Yep. Her brother and sister in law just got back from their honeymoon."

"What's her name?"

"Jessica C. Membrane. She married the son of that crazy Super Toast guy with no pants on that science show. I was at the wedding. Wanna see a picture?" She asked.

"Well, why not? I'm for any topic that doesn't involve my love life." Devi agreed.

"Don't you mean your lack thereof?" Tenna asked.

"Don't ruin this, Tenna. Please. I don't wanna have to kill you."

"That wouldn't be very nice. Considering that you don't wanna die and all." Tenna said

SqueakSqueakSqueakSqueakSqueak

"Mr. Spooky's right. He says you're bitter because your life bites like a rabid weasel." She pulled a picture out of her purse. It showed what must have been the wedding party around the bride and groom. The groom was tall and slightly wiry, with a long, lean musculature. His eyes, behind his thick glasses, were soft amber colored. His hair was shiny black with a long, zig-zagging spike down the back. He wore a wide and loving grin as he held his wife close.

But it was the bride that caught Devi's eye. She vaguely resembled Johnny… Ebony hair and big grey-blue eyes in a distinctively shaped face atop a graceful neck and long, willowy frame. The resemblance was very small, though. The woman's face was longer, and the eyes were bluer and the sweet, likeable sort that glowed with love and happiness. Yet a deep grief shadowed their depths. Her hair was curly and well cared for and her body wasn't so ungodly thin. She had soft, nice curves that Devi felt a brief envy for.

"Um, Tenna. Does Jessica have a brother?"

"Huh? Well, she did. He disappeared six years ago. They were pretty close, so she was real broken up about it. I think she said his name was Johnny. Next year he'll be _legally_ dead. Right now he's only _presumed_ dead."

Devi was silent for a minute. "T..tenna…do you have a phone number for this woman?"

"Um…Dev, she's married. She doesn't like girls."

"Don't be stupid! I dated her brother! That means he's not dead, but that's not something you say in a letter."

Tenna nodded, then her eyes widened. "Fuck! Wait! You mean that her Johnny's your Johnny?"

"Basically… But Johnny's not 'my' anything."

SqueakSqueakSqueakSqueakSqueak

"Mr. Spooky says that you can keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better." Tenna informed her.

"Mr. Spooky's a pain in my ass." Devi muttered.

Squeak Squeeeeeeaaakk Squeeakity

"He says the feeling is mutual."

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Soon…

Ring Ring

"Come on, pick up…" Devi muttered.

Ring Ring

_:Hello:_ Said a woman's voice on the end of the line.

Hello cliffhanger! Oh yes, I went there.

Review or become filthy mouse.


End file.
